Death (Supernatural)
"You have an inflated sense of your importance. To a thing like me, a thing like you, well... Think how you'd feel if a bacterium sat at your table and started to get snarky." ''-Death to Dean Winchester. '''Death' is a powerful neutral entity from the TV series Supernatural History Background :"This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that’s barely out of its diapers. I’m old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you." — Death, to Dean Winchester, Two Minutes to Midnight Death's existence is hinted at by Alastair when he performs a ritual to break one of the 66 Seals. He claims an "old friend" loaned him Death's scythe, and "he doesn't really ride a pale horse, but he does have three amigos." Death does not make a physical appearance in Abandon All Hope..., but his presence is released from its prison in this episode, thanks to Lucifer's ritual. After the ritual is complete, viewers see what is apparently Death's wings as he rises from the ground in front of Lucifer, who responds, "O hello, Death". Death is considered the father of all reapers. A large number of them gathered in the town where Lucifer was going to release Death in order to serve him. Bobby concluded through reading a lore book, that Death served Heaven as a whole, or God, using him as an implement of mass destruction when needed, e.g., the Flood. He served Lucifer in the Apocalypse, though the latter situation is revealed to be merely due to a binding spell Lucifer had cast upon him. Normally, Death is kept locked and chained in a magical coffin 600 feet under the Earth. The Host of Heaven only released him when God had something major planned such as the Great Flood, or as Bobby Singer put it "The last time they hauled him up, Noah was building a boat!". It is unknown why such precautions were taken; the original belief was that he was too powerful and dangerous to allow to roam free, but as Death has been free for 3 years with no major catastrophes since he agreed to spare Chicago, the fear appears to be unfounded. Season 5 Raising Death is the main focus during Abandon All Hope..., as Lucifer is intent on summoning him. Because of this, numerous Reapers gather, ready to take his orders when he appears. Lucifer claims (while he is releasing Death) that the requirements for the summoning are very demanding, and he also appears to have some degree of respect for the Horseman. It's suggested in later episodes that this is due to Lucifer possibly being less powerful and younger than Death. In Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Death arrives in Bobby's hometown and proceeds to revive the dead in the local cemetery. While still unseen, his presence is heralded by fierce lightning storms. As revealed by Bobby's wife, he appears before her to tell her to give a message to Bobby: the entire incident was organized to attack Bobby, as he is one of the few remaining elements keeping Sam from agreeing to be Lucifer's vessel. Those who are revived by Death appear normal at first, but after five days they devolve into stereotypical zombie behavior, contracting high fevers and developing cravings for human flesh. Death appears fully in Two Minutes to Midnight, where he is shown to drive what appears to be a white 1959 Cadillac Series 62 coupe with the license plate "BUH*BYE". He arrives in Chicago, Illinois, and walks down a street full of people. A distracted man rudely shoves past him, and Death turns to look at the man while brushing the side of his coat where the man touched him. He then continues walking as the man falls dead to the ground. Death has arrived in Chicago to start a large storm chain that will trigger massive weather events and kill around three million people. Death, unlike his brothers, appears to have a habit of wandering off from his assigned tasks, much to the annoyance of Lucifer. It is suggested that Lucifer has only a limited amount of control over Death through his spell, and that Death may actually be more powerful than Lucifer. Dean and Crowley track him to a pizzeria were Dean attempts to sneak up on him with Death's scythe. However, the scythe begins to burn hot in Death's presence, forcing Dean to drop it, which alerts the Horseman to his presence. Rather than act hostile like his siblings, the Horseman thanks him for returning the Scythe before asking Dean to join him at the table. Death reveals that he has been waiting for a while to talk with Dean. Dean inquires if Death intends to kill him, causing Death to remark "you have an inflated sense of your own importance" and goes on to compare Dean to a "snarky bacteria". Death claims to be as old as God, though Death states "...neither of us can remember anymore." Death also claims that one day he will reap God, with Dean remarking how in over his head he truly is. Dean asks what Death wants; Death answers simply "The leash around my neck off" before going on to explain that he never agreed to work for Lucifer and that he - and possibly the other Horsemen as well - are bound to Lucifer by a spell. He goes on to explain that he has power beyond what Dean can ever understand and Lucifer, whom he describes as "a bratty child", is using him like a simple weapon, creating massive disasters and raising the dead. This indicates that Death has some care for the natural order of things and Lucifer's genocide against Humanity is upsetting it. He goes on to explain the binding spell prevents him from going to Dean so he had to wait for Dean to catch up. Dean then asks what he wants him to do and Death says first to "take the bullets out of Lucifer's gun". He then willingly takes off his ring. He tells Dean he is inclined to give him the ring if certain conditions are met. He tells Dean not to worry about Chicago, as he likes the pizza, he will stop the storm. His conditions are that Dean must do everything in his power to assure that the Devil is put back in his cell. While Sam will be the one to put the Devil back in the cage, Dean must allow it - even if it means killing Sam by letting him jump into the cage. Dean reluctantly agrees while Death warns him to hold true to his word by saying he can't cheat Death, he then gives Dean the instructions on how to operate the rings that combine to form a key-like device. Later, Dean and Bobby discuss the plan and while Dean is skeptical, Bobby says that Death probably has a larger view of things than they do and they should have more faith in Sam. Season 6 In Appointment In Samarra, Dean seeks out Death, as he figures he is powerful enough to lift Sam's soul from Lucifer's Cage. He requests that he bring both Sam and their half-brother Adam Milligan out of the cage, but Death limits him to pick only one. When Dean chooses Sam, Death states that he will retrieve Sam's soul and set up a "wall" blocking out the memories in Hell, as he would certainly suffer with the memories. He tells Dean that will be his prize if he agrees to Death's deal: he asks for Dean to find his ring, and put it on to become Death for one day. Before Death can explain why, Dean is revived from his dying state. Death later approaches Dean after the latter has clearly lost the wager. Dean returns the ring, and Death acknowledges that Dean's learned something out of his experience. He tells him that he got a hard look behind the curtain, being the one to clean up everybody's messes. The horseman hints that this is the reason why he doesn't make exceptions with death, as this could disrupt the natural order and start a chain reaction of disasters. Death then leaves to Hell to fetch Sam's soul out of Lucifer's cage, and returns in Bobby's panic room to restore the soul to Sam's body, despite Sam's pleas for him not to. Season 7 In order to find a way to defeat Castiel, Dean summons Crowley, and they ask about the spell that can bind Death. Crowley gives them the spell, and they start preparations for the summoning. After the ritual, Death appears, but isn't too happy since he is bound by Dean. Dean asks Death to kill "God". When Castiel shows up, the two exchange words. Death instantly takes a dislike to Castiel and tells him he isn't God and that he is harbouring something else inside. He explains that, prior to creating angels and man, God created the first beasts: the Leviathans. While Death thought they were entertaining, God was concerned that they would "chomp the entire Petri dish" so he sealed them away. Purgator] was made to be their jail and now they are inside Castiel who Death says is just a "thin membrane" separating the Leviathans from Earth. Dean quickly demands that Death kill Castiel, but when he moves to do it, Castiel frees Death. When Castiel leaves, Death remains. He reprimands Dean for another mess and not following on his hint about "souls" he gave Dean last time. Death gives Dean another chance to fix it by telling him he needs to get Castiel to "return it all to Purgatory" (mainly based on his dislike for Castiel and his arrogance). Before he leaves, he tells Dean he will create another eclipse so it is possible to open the door whilst also making a threat to never even attempt to bind him again; "you'll die before you start." Season 9 In I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here, when Sam is in a coma and on the verge of dying, Death himself comes to reap him, saying he considers it an honor and congratulates Sam, saying "Well done, my boy" though he usually doesn't pass judgment on souls. The two converse with Sam asking that if he agrees to die, can Death make it permanent, which Death confirms. However, before Sam can agree, Ezekiel enters Sam's mind in Dean's form to convince him to say "Yes" to possession so he can heal him. Death says that its Sam's decision and doesn't intervene when Sam agrees to "Dean's" plan to save him, not knowing what it is. Death leaves afterwards, his job done. Personality Due to his advanced age, Death is completely detached from the rest of the universe. He even compares Dean to a bacterium. He cares little for major events of the world like the Apocalypse, and despite his coerced involvement by Lucifer, he only pays the events vague interest, resulting in his tendency to wander off from his assigned targets. Unlike the angels or Lucifer, Death considers the Winchesters and their involvement in the Apocalypse highly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. However, unlike his siblings, Death is shown to have a more civil and calm manner when dealing with the Winchesters; Death tells Dean that most people also talk to him with respect. Instead of attacking Dean during their encounter, he invites the Winchester to join him at the table to discuss the Apocalypse. Death also claims to be an acquaintance of God Himself, claiming that the two both share a similar advanced age to one another and that neither of them can remember which is older any more. Despite being callous at times, Death has a respect for the natural order of the universe. He explains to Dean that there are times when it is difficult, but in the end, breaking the order in even the smallest way can cause untold chaos. While he does not hate Dean and Sam, Death feels that the pair are an affront to the natural order due to their constant resurrections. Even though he is capable of it, as a rule, Death himself does not normally resurrect people (most likely because it disrupts the natural order) though he can and might make exceptions or even "an exception once, not twice." He also seems to genuinely like, to a certain degree, Dean as the two share an almost father-son bond; Death even went as far as loaning Dean his Ring so he can become Death for a day, as a way to teach Dean quality of the Human Soul, along with the consequences of disrupting the natural order. He also appears to Dean when he briefly dies to contact him, something he does on his own as Tessa is unwilling and unable to summon him. While Dean does lose their wager, Death is satisfied enough by the fact that he has learned his lesson to do as Dean asks anyway, though he says it is also so they will keep digging into what is going on with the souls of Purgatory as he presumably doesn't like the idea of souls being used for power. Unlike the other Horsemen, Death has a level of respect for humans, specifically the human soul. Death tells Dean that the soul is stronger than anyone knows, and that it can suffer much and be broken but can't be destroyed, not even by him. However, Death is mum as to why the souls seem to be so important. Despite claiming to be totally indifferent to the Winchesters and Earth, Death has helped on a number of occasions. He gave his ring to Dean to stop Lucifer, agreed to get Sam's soul back, and even helped after Castiel broke the binding spell the Winchesters and Bobby had cast on him, albeit claiming that he was only doing so because he found "that little angel arrogant." He also sharply criticizes Dean for not following his earlier hint about souls and tells him bluntly that he'll help, but added, "Don't thank me. Clean up your mess." It is implied that he is not so much uncaring as he is above the petty struggles of the world, disliking being called on to fix things that he thinks should have been taken care of without bothering him. Death also has an appreciation for human food, especially junk food. His liking for Chicago's pizza was so strong he noted it as the reason he spared the city. Later, when Dean summoned and bound him, he brought him pickle chips in an attempt to appease him, which proved fruitless; nonetheless, after he was unbound, Death ate the food anyways and expressed his enjoyment of them on his way out. Powers and Abilities *'Nigh Omnipotence'- The most powerful entity in the universe, right next to God Himself, Death's power is virtually limitless. His power surpasses that of any angel, demon, deity, Eve or even the Leviathans and Archangels. Even Castiel, when empowered by 30-40 million souls of Purgatory, could not match Death's power. As being who he is, Death can resurrect anyone he wishes with no effort, though he chooses not to, as it disrupts the natural order. He can enter and exit Lucifer's Cage without hinder. He is capable of killing anyone or anything in creation, ranging from humans to archangels, and possibly even God, though this remains unconfirmed. God is the only being so far that could rival Death's power. *[http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Nigh_Omniscience Nigh Omniscience]- Death knows almost everything in existence, from planets, life, souls, etc. Despite his immense knowledge, he has been wrong atleast on one occassion: when Sam, Bobby and Dean use a spell to bind him, he immediately thinks that they did so because of Sam's broken wall, when in fact it was to stop Castiel. He also does not know whether he or God is older. *[http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Absolute_Immortality Absolute Immortality]- Being the personification of death, Death can't be killed or even harmed by any way *[http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Embodiment Death Embodiment]/[http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Aspect_Of_Death Aspect of Death]- Death is the personification of death, and is the prime force of death in the universe, allowing him to reap virtually everything. Equipment *'Death's Scythe'-A personal weapon created by Death. Possesses the ability to kill anything in creation, even Archangels *'Death's Car'- Representing his pale steed, Death used this to get around Weaknesses *'Binding'- Despite his immense power, Death has shown to be capable of being bound to weaker creature's will: Once by Lucifer, again by Sam, Dean and Bobby Category:Supernatural Category:Entities Category:Male characters